Bulldogs Take Third at H-Y-P

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Though both Harvard and Princeton bettered the scores of the Yale men's swimming and diving team this weekend, the Bulldogs were not without some shining moments in the 2011 edition of the annual H-Y-P meet. Among those were the races of freshman Mike Bogese, who rose to the occasion in a major way, following up an impressive third-place showing in the grueling 1650-yard freestyle Saturday with a huge win in the 400-yard IM Sunday.

The Bulldogs opened the meet with a top-three showing in the 3-meter diving event, as senior Eric Olson's score of 310.55 was good enough for third overall. Olson was also the Elis' top finisher in the 1- meter competition, posting a score of 272.45 in the finals to take fifth.

Yale took third in the first relay event of the meet, seeing its 'A' corps of captain Kyle Veatch, sophomore Mike Dominski, junior Matt Boone and freshman Pat Killian race to a time of 1:22.17, just behind Harvard's squad. The Bulldogs also broke into the top three in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as Dominski, Killian, and Veatch were joined by junior Goksu Bicer and completed the race in 3:00.94.

While Bogese certainly led the way for the Elis' individual efforts, he was certainly not the only Yalie to turn in a big performance. His classmate West Cuthbert's 1:40.33 in the 200-yard freestyle left him just .6 seconds out of third in that event, while Dominski's 50.03 in the 100-yard backstroke gave him third overall. Bicer (49.13) and Dominski (49.16) also combined to give Yale two of the top three spots in the 100-yard backstroke, going 2-3 for the Blue and White. Veatch swam well in the 100-yard freestyle (45.53), taking fourth overall, and finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle (20.82).

Both Harvard and Princeton are undefeated in conference meets, and are therefore tied atop the Ivy League standings. Yale, at 1-3, sits in sixth, tied with Dartmouth, the team the Bulldogs bested for their first Ivy League win this season. The Elis will travel to Storrs, Conn. for a matchup with UConn on Feb. 5 before rounding out their regular-season schedule with a home date with Brown on Feb. 12. The Ivy League Championships, held this year at Harvard, begin on Mar. 3.